Foreign and Commonwealth Office

North Korea: Embassies

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of paragraph 170 of the 2016 report of the United Nations Panel of Experts, whether they are aware of any attempts to aid illicit activities through banking, bulk cash or trade by the North Korean Embassy in London.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We are concerned by the evidence in the UN Panel of Experts’ report that officials of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) continue to support illicit activities. In accordance with Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office expects all foreign diplomats and members of their families in the UK to abide by UK laws at all times. We treat all allegations of criminal offences committed by those with diplomatic immunity seriously, and work closely with police and other law enforcement agencies to ensure an appropriate response to all allegations.

Bangladesh: Religious Freedom

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Bangladesh about the case of Anata Gopal Ganguly and the murders of atheists and Christians.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Government is extremely concerned by the increase of extremist-related violence in Bangladesh since September 2015, including the murder of Ananda Gopal Ganguly and other individuals from religious and minority groups. We are in regular contact with the Bangladesh government about extremism, human rights and a range of other issues. The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), most recently raised this with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh in the margins of the G7 meeting in Japan on 27 May. Our High Commissioner regularly discusses these issues with Bangladesh government ministers.

Iraq: Islamic State

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports of the public burning to death by ISIS of 19 women from Iraqi religious minorities in Mosul; what assessment they have made of the UN’s calculation that a further 3,500 are being held as slaves; and whether they plan to lay evidence of genocide before the Security Council, and if so, when.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Although we are aware of reports of the burning to death of up to 19 Yezidi women in Mosul, we are not able to verify these reports. We are also aware of the UN’s calculation that up to 3,500 women are being held by Daesh. However, it is difficult to accurately estimate the number of women who remain in Daesh captivity so we cannot confirm this figure.It is clear however, that Daesh has carried out appalling atrocities against Muslims, Christians, Yezidis and other communities in Iraq and Syria. Ultimately the only way to stop Daesh carrying out such abuses and to free those they hold captive is to liberate all of the people currently under their control.Genocide should be a matter for judicial authorities rather than a political decision, but it is clear there is a growing body of evidence that terrible crimes have been committed. We are working with our partners in the international community to do everything we can to support the gathering of evidence which could be used by courts to hold Daesh to account and bring justice to those who have suffered at the hands of Daesh. This is vital because ultimately this is a question for courts to decide. It is not for governments or the UN Security Council to be prosecutor, judge and jury.

Iran: Human Rights

Baroness Afshar: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Iran about the protection of the human rights of Iranian women and scholars.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: As mentioned in the 2015 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Human Rights report, women do not enjoy the same rights and privileges as men in Iran and continue to face discrimination. There are continued restrictions on freedom of expression and belief. We repeatedly call on the Iranian government to guarantee the human rights of all Iranians and will continue to do so. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), most recently raised the issue of human rights with Foreign Minister Zarif when they met on the 17 May.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Vetting

Lord Balfe: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the security implications arising from the reported leak of telegrams from the British Embassy in Ankara, whether they will conduct a review of security vetting of Foreign and Commonwealth office staff.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) regularly reviews its policy on security clearance and did this most recently in October 2015. Our policy is to vet our UK-based staff to ‘Developed Vetting’, the highest level of security clearance, which provides a high level of security assurance. We are satisfied that this is appropriate. Locally Engaged staff are vetted to the level required by their job and the Post.

Islamic State

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy regarding the legal possibility of bringing before the UN Security Council a resolution seeking to refer the actions of Daesh in Iraq and Syria to the International Criminal Court.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor set out some of the complicated issues involved in the ICC investigating Daesh in her press statement of 8 April 2015. We are exploring, with international partners, all legal possibilities for investigating Daesh and holding them to account for their actions.

Iraq: Islamic State

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the likelihood of securing a UN Security Council Resolution focused on the actions of Daesh in Iraq, in the light of the previous vetoes by Russia.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Any decision to refer to the International Criminal Court must be made on the basis of what will be the most effective means to bring perpetrators of atrocities to account. In close consultation with the Government of Iraq, we will continue to look at every available option to ensure accountability, and to work with our international partners on what can be done both to assist the victims and to bring those responsible to justice.

Middle East: Crimes against Humanity

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what funding they have made available to the Free Yazidi Foundation and other organisations in Iraq and Syria to aid the collection of evidence of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have a long-standing commitment to accountability for human rights violations and abuses and have supported efforts to document them in Syria and Iraq. The UK co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council Resolution in September 2014 mandating the investigation of Daesh abuses in Iraq. We continue to support the UN Commission of Inquiry’s investigations into human rights violations and abuses in Syria.We have provided over £8 million to support the documentation of human rights abuses and violations in Syria and Iraq. We also supported the translation of the International Protocol for the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict into Arabic and Kurdish to further build the capacity of human rights, justice and healthcare professionals to respond to and document these terrible crimes.

Middle East: Crimes against Humanity

Baroness Cox: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they or the UN are collecting reports or intelligence detailing suspected crimes against humanity or genocide in Iraq and Syria, and if so, whether that information will be used to profile people who wish to enter the UK from that region.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We have provided over £8 million to support the documentation of human rights abuses and violations in Syria and Iraq.In Syria, we support the work of the UN Commission of Inquiry and continue to call for them to be given unhindered access to investigate human rights violations and abuses. The UK provides financial support to a specialist organisation to collate and build prosecution-ready criminal case files against the high level perpetrators in Syria. These cases are built for international prosecution should a referral to the International Criminal Court be forthcoming, or should individuals be subject to litigation by hybrid, specialised and national courts.In Iraq, the UK co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council Resolution in September 2014 mandating the investigation of Daesh abuses. The UN continues to issue regular reports on abuses committed by Daesh in Iraq. Through our Human Rights and Democracy Fund we funded a project that documents case of sexual violence crimes.A unit within the Office of Counter-Terrorism monitors various country situations, focusing on issues such as international crimes. This information can be used to help identify possible perpetrators and also to support any decision to refuse their application to enter or stay in the UK.Where there is credible evidence that a visa applicant has been involved in international crimes (war crimes and crimes against humanity) their case will be investigated further. This applies to any nationality. If there is sufficient evidence, the applicant would be refused entry on the of grounds of their character, conduct or associations. It is also possible to exclude such people from the UK by virtue of the Home Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Theresa May)’s powers under the Immigration Act. With regard to Syria, applicants under the Syrian Humanitarian Assistance Programme are also screened for any security concerns; including international crimes.

Syria: Refugees

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to take steps to encourage Gulf States to allocate asylum spaces for Syrian refugees.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We recognise and welcome the substantial contribution made by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states to the humanitarian aid response for Syria and the numbers of Syrians already in the Gulf. The Gulf states are now home to almost one million Syrians, and have pledged more than $3 billion in humanitarian assistance. Kuwait co-hosted the London Donor Conference in February 2016 where Gulf states pledged $739 million.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Soil: Scientists

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many soil scientists are currently employed by (1) universities and colleges, (2) research institutions, and (3) the private sector, in the UK.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: This level of detail is not held by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Soil: Research

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the expenditure on soil research by all UK research councils in each year since 2006.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The annual spend on research related to soil science through the Research Councils is provided in the table below.Financial YearSpend2005-06£13.3M*2006-07£16.9M*2007-08£19.7M*2008-09£15.4M*2009-10£17.3M*2010-11£24.1M2011-12£20.6M2012-13£24.2M2013-14£31.2M2014-15£20.8M2015-16£45.1M*Data is not available for the Arts and Humanities Research Council prior to 2010-11.

Ministry of Defence

Type 45 Destroyers

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government who is responsible for (1) the reported design flaw in the engines of the Type 45 destroyers, and (2) the costs of the refit in the light of those flaws; and what assessment they have made of the impact of that design flaw on the capacity and efficacy of the Royal Navy.

Earl Howe: I refer my noble Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence Procurement (Mr Philip Dunne) in the House of Commons on 6 June 2016, to Question number 38719.On the question of any impact on the capacity and efficacy of the Royal Navy, the Type 45 destroyers are hugely capable ships. They have consistently made a difference to our safety and security, and continue to make an enormous contribution to the defence of the UK and our international partners.



Type 45 Destroyers
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Type 45 Destroyers

Lord Hoyle: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to remedy the problems caused by the failure in hot climates of intercooler units on Type 45 destroyers.

Earl Howe: I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence Procurement (Mr Philip Dunne) in the House of Commons on 8 February 2016, to Question number 25165. Type 45 destroyers were designed for world-wide operations, from sub-Arctic to extreme tropical environments and continue to operate effectively in the Persian Gulf and South Atlantic at all times of the year.



Type 45 Destroyers: Repair and Maintenance
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Heritage Lottery Fund

Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to reduce the delays that occur between the announcement of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant being made and permission to start being given to the recipient organisations.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Heritage Lottery Fund work closely to support grant recipients in meeting the essential requirements prior to works starting. The HLF are not aware of a general problem with delays around the existing permission to start process, though timings can vary.

Home Office

Robbery: Greater London

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of reported commercial robberies in London in 2015 were targeted at betting shops.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Home Office does not hold data on the number of police recorded crimes made in licensed premises such as betting shops in London.The Home Office collects data on the number of notifiable offences broken down by offence group and police force area, but these do not routinely include information on the specific location.

HM Treasury

Public Sector: Borrowing

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the current borrowing limits imposed on (1) the Scottish Parliament, (2) the National Assembly for Wales, and (3) the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they permit the devolved administrations in the UK to borrow money for resource budget purposes.

Lord O'Neill of Gatley: The Scotland Act 2014 permits the Scottish Government to borrow up to £2.2 billion for capital purposes and £0.5 billion to cover shortfalls in cash receipts. The Scotland Act 2016 provides for these to be revised in due course to £3bn and £1.75bn respectively. The Welsh Government may borrow up to £500 million to cover shortfalls in the Welsh Consolidated Fund as set out in the Government of Wales Act 2006. The Wales Act 2014 confers aggregate capital borrowing powers of up to £500 million on the Welsh Government. In response to a specific request from the Welsh Government, the Government has also provided early access to these capital borrowing powers in order to support the delivery of the M4 relief road. The Northern Ireland Executive has a statutory borrowing limit of £3 billion for capital purposes as set out in the Northern Ireland (Loans) Act 1975 as amended by the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006. The Northern Ireland Executive may borrow up to £250 million to cover shortfalls in the Northern Ireland Consolidated Fund as set out in the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

Cabinet Office

Government Efficiency Review

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to publish the savings in public sector procurement as a result of following the advice of Sir Philip Green; and whether they will consider inviting Sir Philip to review the adequacy and effectiveness of implementation.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: I refer the noble Lord to the answers I gave him on 11 April 2016 to Question HL7227 and on 9 May to Question HL7900.We have published details of savings made through efficiency and reform each year since 2010-11. The most recent report can be found on www.gov.uk.



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